THE POWER OF THE BOOK IS MIGHTY

I love to read. Now, I prefer to read certain things more than others but I'll read anything. I always have a book and a magazine or two with me everywhere I go. Should I get stuck, say in the doctor's office with all those baby magazines and nothing else to read, you better believe I'll pick one of those puppies up. Or God forbid, at the local Tires Plus waiting for my car to be tuned up, I will, with no other choice, pick up the Car and Tire magazine and read that ish! LOL. You can never read too much.

One of the reasons I loved school so much was because I was exposed to so many different authors, and to new genres. I was never a big fan of any kind of non-fiction until I took some political science and history courses in my college years and saw the true merit of books like "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James Loewen, "Malcolm and Martin" by James Cone and a People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Other writers I now pay attention to include; Thomas Friedman, Cornell West and Henry Louis Gates Jr. I remember reading the Color Purple and I know Why The Caged Bird Sings as an adult and really getting it. And reading Animal Farm and Charlotte's Web as an adult and finally understanding that they weren't just fictional stories I had enjoyed in my childhood but that they had significant messages and historical undertones. There are so many books I read as a child beause I was so curious and hungry that I enjoyed but never truly understood until I read them again later in my life. These include the classics by Dickens, Jane Eyre and the Bronte Sisters. Their books were not just stories, they were a commentary on life in those times. They were fun history lessons.

I am so grateful to my parents for encouraging me to read so much as a child. My mom especially, was always reading something and I always liked to copy my mom so when she'd sit down after work reading her newspaper, I wanted to be reading too. It got so bad at one point that when we visited people's homes, I would bury myself in a corner and read instead of playing with other kids. Thankfully, I grew out of that. Eventually, the Enid Blyton, Sweet Valley and Nancy Drew books weren't doing it for me at age 8 anymore so I probably read a lot of things I shouldn't have at an early age. I was just hungry for more. Never mind that reading voraciously is an asset in life. Anyone who can read very well will have less of a hard time with academics and beyond. We all know that's a fact. But reading for me is an escape. I don't always need to take an exotic vacation somewhere to relieve stress. Just give me a damn good book. When I need to destress and not think, I'll pick up a trashy novel. When I need to think and learn, I'll pick up something more inclined to help me do that. Reading is also a saviour of sorts. When I think about how much I've gotten away with sounding intelligent in discussions with intellectuals just because I've read up on something, I chuckle. I've heard my girl Oprah talk about how reading books helped her temporarily escape from the nightmare that was her life. Reading saved her in many ways hence her bookclub which has jumpstarted the career of many, and opened my mind to more knowledge - thanks Oprah girl!

Even the trashy novels I read frequently teach me something, be it about the place it is set in that I never knew about, or the use of some big word I didn't previously know. The Power of The Book is mighty for many reasons but mostly because it gives us knowledge, and we all know what they say about knowledge being power. Needless to say, my kids will love to read......they'll have no other choice, LOL.

I am supposed to be updating LondonBuki's bookclub blog with all my reads but I haven't done that lately. I'll have to get to that soon. I am currently reading "48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene. It's coming along slowly but surely. I am also reading Suze Orman's "Young, Fabulous and Broke" for the 50th time. LOL. That should tell you something, huh? What are you guys reading?

Now, to quote a great author whom I didn't discover sadly until my late teens;

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” - Dr. Seuss

Have a great weekend guys!!!!!!!!!!